Old Escondido Train Depot + Dixon Lake

10/23/21

Today was a pretty quiet day here in Escondido, about 30 miles north of my beloved San Diego. Honestly, my mind and emotions have been in a bit of a swirl the past few days, so I needed a bit of decompression, which I found in a local park that I biked to along the canal path. (I’m noticing lots of canal bike paths in these desert areas: Phoenix, LA, Escondido, even Klamath Falls in Oregon’s high desert. I think, as my friend Michele pointed out today, we don’t have many canals in rainier climates, but in dry desert areas, they have historically been needed to collect and harness the water that does fall. And now, with so many of them having walking/biking paths next to them, they are a different kind of public resource—one that I especially appreciate.)

This trip has been so wonderful so far, but I suppose it is the human condition to just feel a bit “off” sometimes. The constant travel can be exciting, but at times tiring. Interacting with lots of people is something I love, but it can still sometimes be a bit overwhelming to my introverted self, who mostly sat on my own couch for the past year! And general worries like staying connected to my existing friends, financial (in)security after “jumping into the breach,” concerns about whether the weather and topography, etc will continue to go my way in the rest of the year…. all these kinds of things can get into my head and feel a bit stressful at times.

Sitting in the sun in a cute little neighborhood park (Grape Day Park) helped with this, though, as did a good phone conversation with a close friend this evening. (Johnny, for those of you who know him. His clemency application is slowly moving through the process. Please keep your fingers crossed for him. We will all be better off if he has a chance to use his incredible skills and passions in service of humanity from outside those bars, where he can do even more powerful work than he has done inside.)

Also in that park today, I found the old Escondido train depot! You all know how much I enjoy train travel, as well as the visuals of old rail paraphernalia, so you can appreciate how I felt when I saw the building with its signs, and this old mail car. I like that they can remain in this modern-day city park.

Later in the afternoon, Michele drove me (and her trusty canine companion Dawa) up to a nearby nature park and campground called Dixon Lake. We drove up through the campsite area, and the views were gorgeous!

Tomorrow I may go in to San Diego. I had thought I might wait for that until I return to this area in December, but I really love Balboa Park (and the two Hillcrest vegan bakeries that are only a few blocks apart from each other!) so I may make the trek. Probably on the bus, since it’s 30 miles, and biking it would take more of the day than I would want.

To those of you reading this: thank you for following along with me on my adventures. Whether I’m having a euphoric day or a challenging one, it helps me to know I can share it with my larger community, all around the world.

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